Fleece is a knitted or woven fabric provided on at least one of its sides with thick nap and deep-pile obtained by napping the textile with wire brushes or through a pile weave forming loops that are trimmed. It is typically made of synthetic, mainly polyester, wool or cotton yarns in a plain, pile or knitted weave. The fleece fabrics have insulating air space and are relatively light, so that they are widely used for articles such as blankets, sweaters, hats, jogging bottoms/sweatpants, gym clothes, hoodies, and high-performance outdoor clothing.
However, fleece fabrics have some drawbacks. Fleece is a bulky fabric, due to the deep pile, which makes it suited for only some applications; being bulky, there are problems in handling the fabric, e.g. when garments and articles are made from the fleece fabric. Other problems are the look of the fabric and the fact that the nap (pile) of the fabric eventually wears out.
EP 1925702 discloses a process for preparing a fleece fabric having different kinds of fibers in the front and back faces. The process includes the steps of weaving a natural fiber such as cotton or silk as a ground yarn of the fabric and forming loops in the front face of the fabric by a sinker machine; the tips of the loops are cut to form cut piles that are raised into fibers groups and trimmed. This process is long and expensive and it does not solve the problems of the known art.
WO 2011104022 discloses a process for preparing a woven fabric having the feel and the look of a knitted fabric. The weft yarns include hard yarns and elastomeric yarns both providing warp over portions and under portions. When the fabric shrinks, e.g. at removal from the loom or after washing, the elastomeric yarns shrink more than hard yarn. If the hard yarns' over and/or under portions are long enough (at least 6 adjacent warp yarn), these under/over portions form loops, in a knitted-like manner. A knitted-like fabric can thus be obtained from a woven fabric. WO'022 is silent about fleece fabric.
WO 2015014801 discloses a fabric having a changeable appearance. A woven fabric is provided with weft and warp yarns, providing a base layer for the fabric. A further layer of fabric is formed by the loops of the weft yarn on one side of the fabric. This further layer has no structural functions, and can be easily broken without damaging the base layer of the fabric. As a result, before being broken, the further layer at least partially covers the base layer, providing a first look to the fabric. When the loops of the further layer are broken and possibly removed, the base layer is no longer covered as it was when the loops of the additional layer were intact, thus providing a second appearance to the fabric, different from the first look.
Removal or breaking of the loops only changes the aspect of the fabric, which still maintains the look of a woven fabric. No fleece is disclosed by WO'801.
Therefore, there is a need for a fabric that has a fleece on at least one of its sides and that solves the above-mentioned problems; there also is the need for a process of producing a fleece fabric that is less expensive than the known processes.